Canada did not restrict access to firearms website

"Trudeau has won. Canada is now blocked from guns.com," claims a tweet from April 10, 2023. "It's not the point of which site is blocked, it's that C11 he can and is blocking us."

The tweet is accompanied by a screenshot of a browser with text explaining the user doesn't have permission to view Guns.com -- a firearms retailer which cannot sell to Canadians but does offer news and information about the industry.

Similar posts with screenshots showing users were denied access to the site circulated with claims the Canadian government was censoring content online. The claims also appeared on Facebook and Instagram.

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Screenshot of a tweet with a false claims of internet censorship, taken April 14, 2023

The claims circulated as Canada's Senate considers amendments to federal Bill C-11, also known as the Online Streaming Act.

But the error message appeared because of a security test, not government censorship, said Jennifer Simunek, the director of marketing for Guns.com.

"We frequently test the security of our site, it is possible your IP address was impacted if it is a Canadian IP and using a VPN," Simunek said in an April 12 email to AFP.

Other posters claimed Guns.com had never been available in Canada. Simunek said this was untrue, as the website had always allowed traffic from Canada, despite the sale of their products being limited to US-based buyers.

On April 11, Guns.com tweeted the site was locked outside of the US due to a large amount of bot traffic. By April 12, the company shared the site was back up in Canada and as of April 14, the access denied error message does not appear on Canadian servers.

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Screenshot of guns.com's tweet saying their site was down outside the US, taken April 14, 2023

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Screenshot of a tweet from guns.com saying their site is back up in Canada, taken April 14, 2023

 

Bill C-11

The claims of government censorship are tied to debate surrounding Bill C-11.

If passed, the bill would not block Canadians from accessing certain websites, according to Laura Scaffidi, press secretary for the bill's sponsor, the Minister of Canadian Heritage.

"Bill C-11 is about modernizing the Broadcasting Act, an Act that has been in place for decades. It's about making streaming platforms pay their fair share towards Canadian music, TV shows and movies," Scaffidi said in an April 12 email.

Currently, radio and television broadcasters face regulations enforced by Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC) defining how much Canadian programming must be featured -- rules that do not apply to online streaming services.

Bill C-11 would expand the power of the CRTC to apply its regulations to the internet. It would be up to the CRTC to define how it would update its regulations, including what counts as Canadian content online -- a prospect that concerns content creators.

However, Patricia Valladao, the manager for media relations of the CRTC, said in an April 11 email that the regulator does not block access to websites in Canada.

After consideration, the Senate could approve the new amendments for Bill C-11 to become law or send it back to the House of Commons.

More of AFP's reporting on misinformation in Canada is available here.